NASA astronomers this week captured a new photo of the Comet ISON from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., as it continued to make its way toward the sun, Space.com reports.

ISON stands for International Scientific Optical Network.

The photo was taken early Tuesday, at 6:10 a.m. ET, by Aaron Kingery, Space.com reports. It was taken with a 14-inch telescope with three-minute exposure time, Space.com reports.

The photo was captured just nine days from the comet's anticipated close encounter with the sun.

Two Russian amateur astronomers first discovered Comet ISON in September 2012 with a remotely operated telescope.

The comet's official name is C/2012 S1, Space.com reports.

On Nov. 28, Thanksgiving, the comet will come within 730,000 miles of the surface of the sun, its clost approach to the solar surface. If it survives that trip without breaking up, it will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere to the naked eye, NASA reports. It will be "particularly bright and beautiful," according to the NASA website.

Stargazers and astronomers have expressed hopes it will flare up after its visit to the sun.

Comet ISON is still made of matter from the earliest days of the formation of the solar system, NASA reports.